The most recent Surgeon General’s report on tobacco use was released last month. This year’s report focuses on smoking cessation, a topic that has not been addressed in the report within the past 30 years!

Considerable disparities exists in the prevalence of smoking across the U.S. population, with higher prevalence in some groups. There are also disparities in key indicators of smoking cessation, including quit attempts, receiving advice from a health professional, and using cessation therapies.

We know that tobacco use disproportionately impacts our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, despite the lack of mainstream representation of tobacco health disparities that our communities face. As an organization, APPEAL is committed in our work towards eliminating these disparities and advancing health equity for tobacco-free AANHPI communities.

Chronic infection with the Hep B and Hep C viruses are the most common risk factors for liver cancer in the United States. Despite the significant decline in viral hepatitis B infection in the U.S. since the 1990s, hepatitis B remains a significant cause of health disparities in communities of color, especially in Asian and Pacific Islander (API) and African American communities. This webinar focuses on addressing these health disparities and highlight prevention efforts for these priority populations.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month – a time to raise awareness about type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Read this guest post by our ASPIRE partner Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi:

Pictured here: Participants and staff of Hui Mālama’s diabetes support group

Diabetes affects about 13% of the adult population in Hawaiʻi. Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders are 2.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than the white population in Hawaiʻi. Along with heart disease, diabetes remains the leading chronic illness of Native Hawaiians. Diabetes doesn’t have to take lives.

At Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi (Hui Mālama), our mission is to uplift the health of the Hawaiian nation. We work to address and alleviate health challenges that affect our community, such as diabetes. Hui Mālama provides diabetes education services, nutrition counseling, diabetes counseling, free diabetes management classes, and a free diabetes support group. With these services, Hui Mālama encourages those affected by diabetes to take control of their health and their diabetes. Recently, Hui Mālama received recognition from the American Diabetes Association, which has empowered us to provide the highest standards and most up-to-date services. To learn more about our diabetes services, visit hmono.org/diabetes.­

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Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Incorporated in 1991, Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi serves as the Native Hawaiian Health Care System for Hawaiʻi island, providing medical, behavioral health, and community education services with the sole objective of improving access to quality healthcare, education, and services for the people of Hawaiʻi. Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi is dedicated to improving the wellness & well-being of Hawaiʻi island so that all residents can Live Longer & Feel Better, Together.

The mission of the Light and Salt Association (LSA) is to provide quality health care to the needy and vulnerable, promoting healthy living, and fostering a sense of community responsibility in the greater Houston area since 1997. We work particularly among underserved first-generation immigrants within the Chinese community who tend to have limited English language capabilities and a low socio-economic status. Within this group, a primary focus is on cancer patients and their loved ones and caregivers. In 2018, we served 272 cancer patients and have a database of 1,123 patients and survivors.

The services we provide for or connect to cancer patients include, but aren’t limited to, healthcare system navigation, transportation and language assistance to treatment-related appointments, daily living and housing assistance, one-on-one peer support, in-person and online support groups, newsletters, and cancer educational materials. Our survivorship support programs are something that we’re particularly proud of. We adopt a “patient-centered” approach and believe cultural competence and sensitivity is incredibly important. Many cancer patients have said to us that they not only found an organization, but a family, a family they can trust and count on. They didn’t feel alone when undergoing the lengthy and tough journey towards getting better.

Many of our volunteers have been cancer patients or family members of cancer patients themselves. They came back to lend their first-hand experience to serve others with similar situations. We’ve been blessed with the support of the Chinese community, in particular the churches, within the greater Houston area. Our goal is to further improve and expand on our services to reach more of the underserved Asian American communities.

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Light and Salt Association (Houston, TX) is a one of APPEAL’s network partners under the ASPIRE grant (Cooperative Agreement Number, NU58DP006490, funded by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.)

May is nationally recognized as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of the diverse cultures and experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in the United States.

May 10th is Asian Pacific American Mental Health Awareness Day in the State of California.

It has been well documented that stress is a risk factor for various physical and mental health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression.

Recently, one study has also linked increased tobacco use with high levels of stress among Samoan smokers in California. Find it here.

Our partners at Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi in Hilo, Hawaiʻi shared some tips from their April 2019 Newsletter on healthy ways to manage stress. Everyone responds and manages with stress differently. The first step to adopting healthy coping behaviors is to identify stressors and recognize signs of stress. Are you feeling angry or depressed? What is making you feel these emotions?

Identify people who you can turn to for support. When needed, reach out to family members, friends, or your community for help. Ask them to join you in stress relief activities, it can be as simple as talking story or going out for a hike at a nearby trail. If you have persistent feelings of stress it may be good idea to see a licensed mental health professional.

Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration here for more resources on mental and behavioral health.

The Statewide Pacific Islander Asian American Resource and Coordinating Center (also known as SPARC) is funded through the California Tobacco Control Program and addresses tobacco related health disparities in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Our Executive Director, Rod Lew, was interviewed by Joseph Martin from the Rover Tobacco Control Library at UC Davis.

Listen to the podcast below to learn more!

Some of the highlights include:

Importance of using disaggregated data to see the high prevalence of tobacco use among diverse subpopulations

The need for strong advocates, and opportunities through our leadership development program

Secondhand smoke harms children and adults. TheCDC Tips campaign shares stories of real people living with serious long-term health effects from smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. Learn more about the 2019 CDC Tips campaign at CDC.gov/tips

Read stories from people affected by secondhand smoke below.

Asian Smokers’ Quitline offers services in multiple languages. Call today to quit or help a family member or friend quit.

https://appealforhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/WebinarFlyer-1-1-309x400.jpg400309APPEALhttps://appealforhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/APPEAL_logo_web_final.pngAPPEAL2018-05-25 21:31:452018-07-19 13:18:51Join us for World No Tobacco Day!

The first day of Lunar New Year is on Feb 16, 2018 and it’s fast approaching! Some of our Asian community members may be busy with getting ready for the Lunar New Year and thinking about a resolution for the year of the dog. ASQ has prepared a pack of lucky red envelopes which will be given to each caller who calls ASQ to inquire about materials on how to quit smoking or to complete an online enrollment to receive a quit smoking service. Red symbolizes good fortune in Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, which is why red envelopes are widely used during Lunar New Year and other celebratory events. To celebrate the year of the dog and to wish everyone will have a healthy start of the New Year, red envelopes will be given out to Chinese and Vietnamese callers from now till February 20th while supplies last!

Refer to the ASQ website for more information. Language services available in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, and English!

https://appealforhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/holding_flower-e1530808468325.jpg1200800APPEALhttps://appealforhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/APPEAL_logo_web_final.pngAPPEAL2018-02-08 21:08:572018-07-19 13:19:54Celebrate the Year of the Dog with the Asian Smokers’ Quitline

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend The Institute 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia on behalf of APPEAL where I got the chance to participate in a course entitled, “Addressing Tobacco as a Social Justice Issue,” taught by the amazing, charismatic, and very wise Bill Robinson, Executive Director of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN) .

By the end of Day 1, the class had collectively come up with a working definition of social justice, where everyone has access to healthcare and wellness opportunities, equal economic opportunities, and equal healthcare outcomes regardless of group membership. In other words, equal access should yield equal outcomes for social justice in public health.

Conventional wisdom told me that this isn’t the case today-otherwise I wouldn’t be concerned with health disparities. So, where do health disparities come from and how do we address tobacco as a social justice issue? Remember history. Value culture and people. Consider economics.

Despite all of the rich material and discussion over three days, Mr. Robinson stressed that all I needed to remember from his course were three things: (1) HISTORY, (2) CULTURE, and (3) ECONOMICS. He challenged my fellow classmates and me to consider how the tobacco control movement has been impacted by these things in the past, present, and to consider their implications for the future.

REMEMBER HISTORY

I think it is safe to assume that many of us are familiar with the history of slavery, emancipation, or the Break, and the systematic denial of access to opportunities, resources, education, and etcetera to an entire group of free people in the United States. But that’s history right?

While this may all seem far in the past, I’m sure many of us can identify current examples of unequal access and social injustice happening in the Black community, as well as other vulnerable populations – LGBT, low socio-economic status, and other communities of color.

What is the total impact on health of this historic denial of access to our communities? What needs to be done to ensure that we address avoidable inequities today AND that social justice and health equity are achieved overall?

VALUE CULTURE AND PEOPLE

Something Mr. Robinson said about Big Tobacco struck a chord in me: They know me better than I know myself. They know communities better than they know themselves. BIG TOBACCO IS THE MOST COMMUNITY COMPETENT BUSINESS…EVER!

Historically, Big Tobacco was at the forefront of reaching out to the Black community – tailoring products for their use and incorporating cultural elements in their product designs and marketing. Imagine experiencing systematic denial of access on a daily basis and then finding a product that makes you feel included and part of society – that you aren’t invisible after all.

Today, cultural “hijacking” continues to be a powerful tactic deployed by the tobacco industry. Their product designs and marketing schemes create an illusion of inclusion for historically disenfranchised groups – LGBT folks, communities of color, women, youth. Many of us in the tobacco control movement find these tactics deplorable, but if there is one positive thing I can take home from this it’s that — cultural authenticity aside– wow! community competency works and the industry probably has mounds of data and research to solidify the case.

How will we counter the efforts of Big Tobacco targeting our communities? Most importantly, how will we employ principles of social justice, equity and inclusion in the future of the tobacco control movement?

CONSIDER ECONOMICS

FACT: The money that funds tobacco control efforts comes from cigarette taxes, the master settlement, and lawsuits against the tobacco industry. What does this mean for the tobacco control movement – past, present, and future? How do we ensure everyone has access to healthcare and wellness opportunities, equal economic opportunities, and equal healthcare outcomes regardless of group membership?

When the course ended, I was left with more questions than answers but felt equipped with a more critical eye for looking at tobacco from a social justice framework. As Mr. Robinson stressed in his course, remember these three things: (1) HISTORY; (2) CULTURE; and (3) ECONOMICS. How else can we apply these when addressing tobacco as a social justice issue? Let the marinating commence!